From Her Point of View
by Hook-khfangirl
Summary: She thinks dragons are make believe. That's before she realises her mother is one...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long or any of its characters

_Cow shit_.

Joelle ran through the dark alley. Footsteps pounded after her. Breathing came in shallow bouts. She could not keep this up anymore.

'Oi! Come 'ere you little brat!'

Sure, she probably shouldn't have broken his bike, but it was what he deserved, right?

_Cow shit. Chicken shit. Pig shit. HOLY shit. _A dead end. _Not good_.

'Well, looks like you have no where to go, eh girlie?' Lumbering up to her, Joelle could see he was just trying to frighten her. But hey, it was working.

Grabbing a crowbar out of no where, the guy seemed like he was intending to do more than just frighten her (on second thoughts).

In the shadows, his skin seemed to turn blue. His teeth got sharper, his face more leering. His arms were beginning to look like tree trunks.

Grabbing her skateboard, Joelle pushed it toward him, causing him to slip. She grabbed it back and rolled away from the fallen man.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Her eyes MUST have been playing tricks on her in that alley.

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'HOME!'

Joelle dumped her bag on the dining table and dazedly climbed up the stairs. As she reached the door of her room, she noticed one very annoyed mother standing inside.

'UGH! I am NOT in the mood for this!' she growled.

'Well, could you explain to me, your mother, why you weren't at school today?'

Joelle stared at her mother. Tall, elegant and intimidating; everything Joelle wasn't. Dark, curly locks fell on her shoulders, much opposed to the reddy-brown wisps that hung around Joelle's ears. Graceful and gentle, she omitted a warm glow of affection; for those who deserved it.

'Joelle, _answer me!_' She crossed her arms.

'Firstly, it's Jo, and GET OUT OF MY ROOM!'

And with that, the shocked woman was pushed out of the room by a screeching girl and the door was slammed in her face.

Nibbling her lip, Haley Long sighed at her daughter's door.

'When will she learn?' she asked it.

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'Please, grandpa! I need to talk to her! It's important!' Jo rolled her eyes at her mother. As _if_ she was going to talk to her. Sitting outside the workroom at the struggling electrical shop listening to her mother and great-grandfather talking would normally be classified at eavesdropping, but Jo preferred it to be called 'listening to things that she would be told later early'.

'No. This is more important! You can talk to her later.' Haley sighed. Jo, however, punched the air in exultation.

'Dragon up!' Haley hoarsely whispered. Jo stopped.

_Right_, she thought. _Has mum really lost it?_

She peered through a crack of the open door to find the room empty except for her great-grandfather. Noticing her there, he beckoned her into the room.

'Oi, kid, watch where you're putting those clumsy feet of yours!' Fu Dog was lying on the floor near the door, so Jo hadn't noticed him. The years had been kind to him, for now he was a face, surrounded by flabs of skin. Chuckling, Jo sat down opposite her great-grandfather.

'Yes, G?' Lao Shi nodded acceptance of the nickname.

'Do you believe in dragons, Long Xi-an?' Jo winced as she heard her full Chinese name. But she shook her head at such a ridiculous question.

'No,' she snorted. 'Of course not. Who would?'

Lao Shi merely looked sad.

'Our culture is very closely related to _mythological_ creatures. Did you know that Xi-an?' he asked, sipping his tea.

'It's Jo, by the way. And seriously, what's all this whack about mythological creatures? Like dragons, and let me guess, you're also talking about unicorns, and fairies, and pixies too, right?'

'Correct, young one! Well done!'

'_Wrong!_ I don't know why you bother talking to me about these things, you're just a crazy old man with too much time on your hands!'

Lao Shi looked crestfallen. Fu Dog shook his head at the girl's impertinence.

'You'd better listen to the old man kid. He's right, you know. And seriously, why do you think I talk?'

Jo stopped and thought. She'd never really contemplated that Fu talking was out of the ordinary. But she wasn't going to sit there and talk about unicorns and other rubbish with a mad old man.

'Always wondered why you have a cousin, but no uncle or aunty, Jo?'

Jo got up. She'd just about had it. She was leaving. As she reached the door, he tried one more, last, desperate attempt to capture her attention.

'What if I told that our family is part of a long line of dragons? And that your mother is one? And you might be one as well…' He was cut off by the door slamming shut.

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'Yeah right!' Jo muttered as she stalked off back home. 'Dragons! Pfft! As if!'

Through the wind Jo thought she heard what sounded like a roar. Shaking her head again to clear her thoughts, she sighed. She had a crazy family who believed in dragons and unicorns. Perfect!

'Yeah, and what did Mum say before she escaped through the back door?' she snickered. 'Oh yeah. _Dragon up_!' She laughed. Then something extraordinary happened. Jo felt her body stretch – but not hurt. All she saw was flames, which flickered around her like caressing hands. She screamed, not knowing what was happening. Then it stopped. She lay on the pavement, her breathing hard and shallow, her eyes closed. When they finally opened, she was shocked to find pale blue scales all over her body. There were claws in place of her hands and feet. And behind her view, on her back; what were they? She craned her neck and her mouth opened in shock when she saw a tail and a pair of wings. When she bit her tongue to steel herself, she had to stop herself from crying in pain. Her jaw was lined with jagged teeth, and a forked tongue to match. She look around, stunned, and screamed when she realized she'd become…a _dragon_.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long or any of its characters

Haley heard a scream as she finished bundling off an ogre for stealing. He had been shrieking about some crazy, red-haired pixie crushing his bike. As he was led off by the Dragon Council, Haley had been thinking. Between all her time working as an accountant and juggling her American Dragon duties, she'd barely had time for her own daughter. As a single mother, she was respected by the other mothers of Jo's school, but she had none left for herself. And now she was ashamed that she didn't know anything about her daughter at all.

Flying toward the source of the scream, she couldn't help thinking it sounded like Jo. She landed and changed back into her human form. Timidly, she approached a fairly large huddle lying on the empty street. Pale blue wings, long tail, it could only be a dragon! But, Haley thought as she changed into one herself, none of the dragon council is light blue.

'Are you OK?' Haley asked, somewhat reluctantly.

_I mean seriously,_ she thought. _It could be dangerous._

The dragon's voice was small and soft.

'Mum?'

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Haley gasped.

'_Jo?_'

The other dragon whimpered, and pulled herself off the ground. It took so much of her strength that she just collapsed into her mother's arms.

Haley was still trying to recover from her shock.

'Come on sweetie, I know it's hard, but please try to change back!' Haley pleaded and begged with whoever was there to help.

'I-I-I don't know how! Mum, help!' Jo was calming down, but was still on the verge of tears.

'Just try thinking of your human form, honey. See, like this!' Haley became human again and started stroking Jo's head, which was on her lap.

'I'm trying…' Jo's face was now screwed up in concentration. And then, in a flurry of blue flames, Jo was transformed back into her human self. Then her world became black. Sighing, Haley became a dragon again and picked her daughter up before flying back to their home.

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Haley had seated Jo down in their small living room. Wrapped in a blanket and clutching a cup of hot chocolate, Jo seemed intent on finding out what had happened. Haley found it too hard to explain, and had called Lao Shi and Fu Dog over for help.

'See kid, the old man was right, your mother is a dragon!' Fu immediately exclaimed.

'And, so it seems, you are too!' Lao Shi added.

'But Grandpa, doesn't it skip a generation?'

Lao Shi looked at Haley.

'Normally, no. Your mother was just a special case. So, Jo, our family has many descendants, most of which are dragons. The Dragon Council – they're the leader of all the dragons – decided they needed a dragon for every single country of the world, so I was relocated here. And thus, my grandson became the first American Dragon.'

'In other words, my brother, Jake Long.'

They both smiled at the memory.

'Uh, where is he then? Taking a vacation or something, 'cause from what I heard, Mum was doing 'dragon duty'.' Jo piped up.

A dark look was exchanged between the three adults.

'With the Dragon Council came the Huntsclan. They hunted the dragons and used them as toys and target practice.' Haley muttered darkly.

'But Jake, the American Dragon, did something very wrong. He fell in…'

**FLASHBACK**

_The final battle began with the American Dragon attempting to charge down the Huntsman. He roared, and fire was blasted all around the old warehouse. Rose, the former Huntsgirl, now working with the dragons, was battling many of the Huntsclan members without weapons. Lao Shi, Haley and the rest of the dragon council were also fighting the Huntsclan. They were winning the battle, and thirteen-year-old Haley was feeling exhilaration of the battle, the adrenaline rush, and the sweet taste of victory. Lao Shi and many of the dragon council members were also stopping to watch the last battle; Huntsman verses the American Dragon and Rose. Then it happened. As Rose high-fived Jake as Huntsman went slamming into a collapsed wall, a green blast came in from no where and Jake flew back. Rose screamed as he lay under rubble unmoving. As she moved toward him Huntsman shot another unseen blast from where he lay. It hit Rose squarely on the back and she feel too, graceful as she was in life. Filled with uncontrollable rage and grief, she launched a new attack and plummeted into Huntsman, scratching, kicking, punching and biting him as she got vengeance for Jake. She attacked and attacked and didn't stop until someone pulled her away from the unmoving body of Huntsman. Then she succumbed to tears, each drop tearing a part of her away until her grandfather and mother pulled into a hug and their tears became one. When she finally summoned enough courage, she approached the bodies of Jake and Rose. But in their true form, they were arranged next to each other and were holding hands. It looked so natural that you wouldn't think that they were…dead. And at the funeral, they were buried next to each other, the elaborate statue was of a dragon and a girl, standing looking toward the distance, _dead_ to the road…_

**END FLASHBACK**

As she was jerked back to the world, Lao Shi finished his story. His eyes were tearing up at the memory and Fu Dog was beyond hysterical. However, Haley knew she needed to regain control of the situation.

'So after that, I became the American Dragon. And now, it's time to hand my duties over to you, my daughter.' Haley smiled at an uncertain Jo. Jo replied by frowning.

'Normally, the title and role of American Dragon is passed down to the oldest boy of the family when he turns thirteen. But…' Lao Shi began glaring at Haley.

'You were my only child, and a girl. We were going to tell you on your thirteenth birthday, but, apparently, you found out…'

'SO I WAS GOING KNOW NEXT WEEK ANYWAY?' Jo suddenly yelled.

'But now since you know, I have to hand down my duties as the American Dragon to you, Jo. It is now up to you to protect all the magic creatures of America and New York City in general.'

A look of horror appeared on Jo's face. The dawn of realization was hitting.

'I, the American Dragon, Haley Kay Long, am now handing my duties as the American Dragon to you, my daughter, Joelle Xi-an Long. You are now the new American Dragon.' Haley smiled sadly at her daughter, whose only response was to hurl into the bucket.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long or any of its characters._

'_Crap!_'

'Jo, no swearing!' Haley yelled at her daughter. Jo shook her head and gritted her teeth as she flew across the room to meet her 'opponent' again.

'Come on! Why don't this work?!' screeched Jo. Haley rolled her eyes.

'Let's go Jo! Move your wings more smoothly, you can fly faster!'

'I can't!' Haley threw her hands back in frustration.

'I am _not_ in the mood for your adolescent whining now! I'm late for work because of you not being able to get up!' Haley watched her daughter fly jerkily around the room. 'Wake up Jo! This isn't child play! It's dragon training!'

'So it's my fault that Fu Dog turned of the electricity last night?' shrieked Jo as she dodged the flying disks that were being hurled at her.

'Just _concentrate_ Jo! Fu, set the level up.' Fu Dog followed her command and pushed a button from where he sat in the controls room.

As her flapping became more consistent and more even, Jo flew higher and higher. Before long, she was soaring above the metal monsters she was fighting! A spiked ball flew past her, and she barely managed to react. Her shoulder was grazed as it flew past and she screamed.

'It's only a little scratch Jo! Keep going! There's going to be a lot more once I'm done with you!'

'That's child abuse!' But she was angry now, and she flew and dived for the machine. 'This time, it's over,' she hissed. She was getting closer to her target. She yelled as she neared it and braced herself for the impact.

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!'

Her nose crashed into the wall; she'd gone straight through the metal. She rubbed her nose and winced, sitting up for her mother's lecture.

But she received none. It was Fu Dog who was copping an earful.

'What do you think you were doing?' she was shrieking.

Fu Dog only responded by laughing his head off, and eventually fell off his chair. Enraged, Jo flew up to the glass where he hid behind.

'You STOPPED THE STIMULATION WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO WIN!!!'

Fu Dog was still laughing.

'FU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' To her relief, her mother had already taken the lift up into the room and had picked the old dog up by the collar.

'When I said work the controls for training,' she said in a low and dangerous voice, 'I meant work the controls for training, not for play.'

Fu stopped laughing immediately.

'Awww, c'mon Haley, it was just a bit of fun! Did you hear her?' He let a little giggle escape as he mimicked her. '_This time, it's over!_ She sounded so serious! Just like Jake when he was…' Fu stopped.

Jo watched her mother's brow furrow.

'Whatever. I've gotta run for the meeting. GO! Jo will see you after school.' Haley stalked off, slamming the door on the way out.

'What's her problem? Jo mouthed through the glass. Fu merely shook his head and gestured to the lift.

'Don't worry. It's still a sore spot for her. It's still a sore spot with all of us as well.' Fu shot at her as soon as she appeared.

'Why? All you said was Jake…'

'Yeah, it's a painful memory. Just drop it Jo.' He turned around and smiled. 'Aren't you late for school?'

'OMIGOSH!!!' Jo transformed into human form again. Her red-brown hair was a mess but she was not worried about it like normal. She was sooo late. And that means she could get a detention. Which lead to a suspension. And since she'd already had about…eight this year, it could lead to expulsion. She was sooo dead.

Jo bolted out of the house, grabbing her bag on the way out. The bus was long gone by the time she reached the bus stop.

'NO! THIS IS NOT GOOD!' she said aloud.

Innocent passer-bys shook their heads at the desperate girl who was stating the obvious._Wait, no, desperate is an understatement_. A thought appeared in her head. _What if-_

No, Mum and Fu Dog, not to mention Lao Shi had warned her against it. _But they weren't here._

Turning into a narrow and empty road, she shrugged off her backpack. Quickly scanning the area for any prying eyes, she transformed.

'Dragon up!' As the blue fire appeared around her, she involuntarily shivered. Still not used to it, it was constantly a haunting thought that she may get burned as she changed. But she didn't, and before she knew it, was flying through the sky hidden by the clouds. She dived and landed about a block from school. Knowing there was less than a minute left, she flew behind a tree and transformed. The bell was ringing as she came out from behind it, and she dusted off her jeans in satisfaction. _Safe_.

'JO?'


End file.
